chaz Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Did I mention something special? I spent Wednesday and Thursday of last week at RSPB Strumpshaw Fen, just east of Norwich. One of the few places where the magical swallowtail butterflies can be seen. It was early in the flight period for these, Britain's largest butterfly, so every one seen was a fresh, perfect specimen. In two days I must have had about a dozen sightings - some brief as the insect flew passed - some prolonged as it worked its way along from flower to flower. Chaz 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 More likely to see a flying fish today! Not that the rain is unwelcome after a very dry winter and spring in the SE. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 There are some wonderful pictures on this thread I do enjoy a quick visit to admire people's work. Had a strange visitor on the bedroom window the other day can anyone enlighten me as to what it is ??? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 A beetle. About half an inch long? As kids we called them bloodsuckers ( on zero evidence!) and they were pretty common, but I haven't seen one in the UK for decades. (Score 1 for pesticides no doubt.) I think it might be one of the 'Soldier beetle' group, but I am no entomologist. You can spend all day using one of the recognition sites available on line, beetles are about most common visible life form here... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted June 6, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 6, 2017 Well they were out on Sunday! I doubt if they could cope with the rain and winds that we have had since. While out mowing on Sunday morning, I did see some very small beige coloured butterflies that I don't recall seeing before. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 There are some wonderful pictures on this thread I do enjoy a quick visit to admire people's work. Had a strange visitor on the bedroom window the other day can anyone enlighten me as to what it is ??? Bala Lake Model railway show 2017 001 (207x400).jpg Pyrochroa serraticornis - no common English name I'm afraid, although the beetle is common enough. The antennae are distinctive. The very similar cardinal beetle has a black head. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashcombe Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 Seen in Ian's garden this morning in la Sarthe. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 (edited) I had a very pleasant walk along the River Itchen this morning, and saw several butterflies.... My first marbled white of the year looking very special backlit in the sun. Then a large skipper, perched on grass. And who can resist a red admiral? But the stars of my walk were these two....a special moment as I had never seen this species before. Perched in the middle of a big bank of brambles I could only view them at some distance, so these photos have been cropped quite hard. These butterflies are very small and though the 300mm lens brought them closer I was still hoping that they would work their way closer. I pushed into the bramble as far as I could. Oh, the species? White-letter hairstreak. Another butterfly that never opens its wings when it's perched. Chaz Edited June 13, 2017 by chaz 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 (edited) This year I have seen swallowtails and white-letter hairstreaks - both species that I had never seen before. Yesterday I went in search of another new species, the re-introduced large blues at Collard Hill, in Somerset. An early start (leaving Eastleigh at 6am) to avoid the potentially heavy traffic on the dreaded A303 got me on to the southward facing (very steep) slope where the butterflies occur at around 8am. A bit too early for the insects as it turned out - I spotted my first one after an hour. It perched motionless on the bramble leaf for quite a while. As it got later and hotter a lot more blues appeared. Below is a male. None of the butterflies I saw fully opened their wings - this "V" is the best I got. It was just too hot; butterflies avoid over-heating by keeping their wings closed and edge-on to the sun. The next shot is a female (darker wing spots)... Next photo' is a female placing an egg in a flower cluster of wild thyme. You can see her abdomen bending to make contact. The large blues fly from thyme to thyme. And, lastly for variety a humming-bird hawk moth. My only regret is that I failed to get a shot of it in flight. It hovered right in front of me but by the time I had got the camera up it had shot off. Chaz Edited June 19, 2017 by chaz 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted June 20, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted June 20, 2017 Chaz you are spoiling us! Many thanks for sharing such wonderful pictures We walked up to the top of Croft Ambrey just north of Leominster on Sunday. No spectacular sightings, just plenty of speckled woods and meadow browns Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 (edited) Posting destroyed by Photobucket. There is a tempting Spoonerism. Edited July 2, 2017 by chaz 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Due to Photobucket's change to their conditions of use I an unable easily to restore my photographs to this topic. Unless I find an adequate substitute there will be no more postings from me. Sorry chaps. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted June 30, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted June 30, 2017 Chaz that will be a real shame - they are something special for sure! Its such a pain when these photo sites foul things up for their users. Anything I take is poor in comparison - was out on the river Ithon in mid Wales yesterday when we encountered a meadow teeming with ringlets... You will see from the grass the weather was Welsh! A couple of locals in the form of a pair of peregrines were non too impressed with our intrusion either...what a racket! Phil 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Chaz that will be a real shame - they are something special for sure! Its such a pain when these photo sites foul things up for their users. Anything I take is poor in comparison - was out on the river Ithon in mid Wales yesterday when we encountered a meadow teeming with ringlets... Ringlet 29.6,17.JPG You will see from the grass the weather was Welsh! A couple of locals in the form of a pair of peregrines were non too impressed with our intrusion either...what a racket! Phil Nice shot Phil, ringlets are one of the few butterflies that will tolerate overcast conditions - the others vanish from the scene when things are not to their liking! A couple of years ago I was watching Duke of Burgundy in a local colony. While the sun was out they were displaying and flitting about. As soon as a cloud obscured the sun they all vanished, only to reappear when the sun re-emerged. Now, to the Photobucket saga. It seems likely that I will be able to post photos directly to this forum (I didn't think this was possible). If I can get this up and running I will resume the posting of images to this and other topics on RMweb that I follow. However past postings will be damaged with the posted photos replaced by PB's message. Sorry about that but you will realize that I can't possibly take on the task of replacing well over a thousand links - it's just too much work. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted July 1, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted July 1, 2017 Chaz the loss of your past photos on here will be a significant diminution of this thread - thank you for sharing them with us, the most important thing is that you still have original files And of course any you can post on here going forwards will be quality leaders for sure... Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
auld_boot Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 I believe this is a Speckled Wood, taken a couple of weeks ago in a field just outside Aberporth. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted July 1, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted July 1, 2017 It certainly is - smashing photo. I wonder if that was the field of tall grass at Aberporth I got lost in as a 3 year old many moons ago??? Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 I believe this is a Speckled Wood, taken a couple of weeks ago in a field just outside Aberporth. SpeckledWoodWales.jpg Nice photo of a speckled wood. Judging by the really good condition it's in it's probably a second brood insect, which are on the wing from June until late September. The first brood is generally finished by the end of May. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Hoorah! Thanks to SimonD's neat explanation of how to do it I can post snaps direct from my Mac to here.... Swallowtail on red campion expect more later. Chaz 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 (edited) Is there any appetite for a few "blast from the past" butterfly snaps? I could add one every day? Just click "like" to start the ball rolling. Chaz Edited July 2, 2017 by chaz 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 OK lads, I could argue that you have had today's snap but that seems a bit mean so here is a bonus one.... First person to identify it can choose the next species (subject to it being in my archive!). Chaz 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted July 2, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted July 2, 2017 My punt would be ... a grizzled skipper Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 My punt would be ... a grizzled skipper Phil Nope! Sorry Phil, it's not Pyrgus malvae, although I can see why you might think that. No, this one is a bit rarer... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 One of the brown fritillaries? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 One of the brown fritillaries? Sorry mate - it's not any sort of fritillary. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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